


This is me trying

by justanoutlaw



Series: Femslash February 2021 [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:08:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29148708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanoutlaw/pseuds/justanoutlaw
Summary: Regina turns her back on revenge for one night.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard
Series: Femslash February 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137281
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	This is me trying

**Author's Note:**

> For day 2 of Femslash February: tears/rain/beaches.

_Could've followed my fears all the way down_

_And maybe I don't quite know what to say_

_But I'm here in your doorway_

_I just wanted you to know_

_That this is me trying_

_I just wanted you to know_

_That this is me trying-Taylor Swift_

Regina stares up at the destroyed wooden castle, a tug of guilt panging her heart. This was Henry’s safe space, his haven. It’s where he went to hide from bullies, seagulls and lately…her. He loved it here and now it’s just gone. No other playground is going to replace that.

Something lands on her head with a thud and she vigorously wipes her hair to get rid of it, only to feel another. She looks up in time for several raindrops to dance upon her face. Great. She needs to get home before it gets too bad.

Regina walks along the sand, her heels getting stuck every so often. Eventually, she pulls them off and holds them with one hand, using the other to lift up her navy suit jacket to shield her from the impending storm. Henry is off with Nicholas and Ava, his first friends in a really long time. When she gets home, she’ll be alone. She can down some hot cider and take a long bubble bath without worrying that he’ll go visit Emma.

She’s halfway off the beach when she notices someone sitting beneath the trees. As the Queen, she’d let them sit there and be stupid. As the mayor, she can’t afford another scandal. People are already questioning Graham’s death and just how David ended up in his coma. The last thing she needs is this storm killing someone.

The rain picks up as she walks closer, the wind blowing her hand down and with it, her jacket. Her perfectly applied makeup begins to run down her face, proving she’s going to look like a mess the next time she looks in the mirror.

In the midst of the wind and the rain, she hears crying. Not just any crying, but a familiar, pitiful sob. One she’s not heard in ages.

Snow White.

No, the woman who sits before her in a pink cardigan and polka dot dress isn’t Snow White. Snow White had long, thick curls. Snow White wasn’t afraid of her, she cut back with her wit and arrow. Snow White didn’t let her guard down.

Mary Margaret has a pixie cut. She’s terrified of Regina whenever she walks past her. She doesn’t speak up against her, not since that day 18 years ago in the woods. That was the last tie she knew for sure that Snow White was awake. She doesn’t know what happened, but she tested her several times in the weeks after that. Snow White is asleep, Mary Margaret takes her place.

And as much as it kills Regina to admit, she misses Snow White. Emma fights with her, but it’s not the same. Snow is the only person who knows Regina, really knows her. Who was willing to give her a second, a third, a fourth chance. It’s naïve, it’s terrible…but it gave Regina hope.

Now Mary Margaret sits before her, a mess. Regina clears her throat and Mary Margaret looks up, mascara dried to her face. She quickly gathers her purse and gets to her feet.

  
“Madam Mayor…I…”

“You’re sitting in the rain. You could catch death.”

Which is what Regina should want, isn’t it? After all the times she couldn’t kill Snow White, no matter how hard she tried…she could just let the elements do it.

The other part of her wants to wrap her in a blanket and send her home before she catches pneumonia.

“It wasn’t raining when I got here,” Mary Margaret argues, dumbly.

Regina rolls her eyes. The rain is sticking her good suit to her body. “And yet you stayed.”

“I’m going.”

Mary Margaret heads for the parking lot, her beige purse limply hanging from her fingers. Regina wants to let her go. She can wait for Emma at home, they can comfort each other.

And yet Regina finds herself saying, “You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

Mary Margaret turns around, holding her ugly cardigan closer to her body. “Excuse me?”

“It’s getting late. Emma’s working. You shouldn’t be alone.”

“What do you care?”

_I don’t_ , Regina tells herself. _I haven’t cared about you in a long time._

And yet, she takes a step forward. The Evil Queen is arguing with her in her head. Let her die, let her be miserable. It’s what she deserves!  
  


But the girl who saved Snow that day on the horse, the one who loved and just wanted love in return, wins out.

“No one should be alone. Especially on a night like tonight. Come back to my house.”

Mary Margaret stares at her and for the first time since she met her son, Regina feels her most vulnerable. She thinks of the time she attempted to be a family with Snow, when she was so ready to give up her revenge and be there for her. Then Snow found the massacred village and turned on her. The rejection pierced Regina’s soul and she isn’t sure if she can go through that again.

“Okay.” Mary Margaret’s voice is soft, sad.

Regina feels herself smile and takes a step forward. “Your car or mine?”

“I walked here to talk to David. So…yours.”

David. The prince who was never really good enough for her to begin with. Her original idea for the curse was for him to be married to someone else, purely to hurt her. But then he had to go and play the hero, getting killed seconds before the curse was cast. Now, it’s not Regina’s choice to hurt her, it’s his cursed persona’s alone. He could’ve picked her over Kathryn, he could’ve gone to her.

But now in a twisted turn of events, Snow White is alone and Regina is there to pick up the pieces.


End file.
